Charge control valve mechanism for internal-combustion engines



March 6, 1951 M. CHARGE CONTROL VALVE MECHANISM FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES Filed July 5, 1948 MALLORY 2,544,607

IN VEN TOR.

Mar/or; Mal/cry A T roam/95 Patented Mar. 6, 1951 CHARGE CONTROL VALVE MECHANISM FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES Marion Mallory, Detroit, Mich.

Application July 3, 1948, Serial No. 36.893

8 Claim. (01. 123-103) This invention relates to a charge control.

valve mechanism for an internal combustion engine.

It is desirable in an internal combustion engine to provide a carburetor and fuel mixture intake passageway of suillcient size or cross section so that the engine can breathe freely and maintain a desired high compression in the cylinders at high engine speeds. With such an intake passageway there is a tendency for the engine to overcharge and knock or detonate at low engine speeds.

This invention contemplates a charge control valve for such an intake passageway which will control the charge, particularly at low engine speeds, so that the engine will not be overcharged and therefore will not knock. In other words, this invention contemplates a charge control valve mechanism which will control the charge taken in by the engine at all speeds to maintain approximately the same high compression at all engine speeds without knocking.

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross section through a carburetor and centrifugal valve air bleed mechanism showing my charge control valve mechanism.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary detail of the centrifugally unbalanced air bleed valve.

Referring more particularly to the drawings the various elements are referenced as follows:

carburetor housing I having an intake passage way 2 through which all the fuel mixture flows into the engine, intakepassageway inlet 3 and outlet 4 to the engine, venturi 5, manually controlled throttle valve 6 of the butterfly type mounted on throttle shaft 1 journalled in housing I, crank arm 8 fixed on throttle shaft I outside the housing I, throttle rod 9 of the push and pull type which can be either manually or foot operated, unbalanced charge control valve III of the butterfly type mounted on shaft II journalled in housing I, crank arm I2 fixed on shaft II outside housing I, suction device or servomotor I3 having a flexible diaphragm I4 connected by rod I with crank I2, suction chamber I6, compression spring I! acting on diaphragm I4 and tending at all times to open charge control valve Ill, orifice I8 in the intake passageway on the engine side of charge control valve I0, conduit I9 connected into conduit 20. Conduit communicates at one end with suction chamber I6 and at the other end with orifice 2| in tubular bearing support l2 for bearings 23 and 24 in which is iournalled shaft 25 driven off the internal combustion engine (not shown) with which my charge control valve is associated. The carburetor fuel nozzle is designated 21.

Bearings 23 and 24 are spaced to provide an.

all times with orifice 2 I. Shaft 25, which may be the ignition distributor shaft, carries valve housing 23 which may be integral therewith. Cylinder 29 in housing 23 is connected by longitudinal passageway 30 and transverse passageway 3I with annular passageway 26. Passageway 30 terminates at orifice 32 which is controlled by piston valve 33 provided with a conical valve head 34. Cylinder 29 is air bled to atmosphere through orifice 35. Valve body 33 is provided with a longitudinal slot 36 through which the portions of cylinder 29 in front and in back of piston valve 33 communicate. Compression spring 31 urges valve 34 radially inwardly so that the valve tends to close air bleed orifice 32.

Valve I0 is unbalanced, that is, the portion of the valve to the rightlof shaft II has a greater area than the portion of the valve to the left of shaft II. Hence, the manifold suction and the velocity of the fluid flowing through intake passageway 2 tend to swing valve I 0 toward open position. Valve I0 when fully closed will have a clearance with the wall of the intake passageway 2 somewhat greater than the normal idle clearance provided between the throttle valve 6 and the intake passageway wall so that when throttle valve 8 is opened and valve I0 is closed, a charge somewhat greater than an idle charge will flow by valve III to the engine and thus cause the engine speed to accelerate.

The operation of my device is as follows: As shown in the drawings, throttle valve 6 is in idle position. Centrifugally unbalanced valve 33 is arranged to open gradually in accordance with gradually increasing engine speed at lower engine speeds and will reach fully open position so that orifice 32 is unrestricted when the engine reaches some predetermined desired higher speed corresponding to, say, between 40 and 50 miles per hour vehicle road speed at high gear. Valve 34 will preferably begin to gradually open as the engine increases its speed from idle speed and thus ca gradual bleeding down of the vacuumiii c amber I6 and gradual opening of valve In with increasing engine speed. The en gine speed at which valve 34 will be fully open willvary with the engine. At idle position valve 34 is closed, dotted line showing Fig. 2, and full line showing Fig. 1, so that air bleed orifice 32 is at orifice II is established in suction chamber I! thereby causing diaphragm ll, acting through rod II, to hold valve I. closed.

If throttle valve 8 is now swung to wide open position, the charge flowing by control valve Ill will increase thereby causing the speed oi the engine to increase. As the speed of the engine increases, centriiugally unbalanced valve 34 gradually moves radially outwardly from orifice 32 thereby gradually increasin the rate of flow of atmospheric air through orifice 35. Passageway 36, orifice 32. passageways 30, 3i and 20 to suction chamber l6. As the vacuum in suction chamber I6 is gradually bled down. spring I! moves charge control valve l clockwise, thereby cutting down the restrictive eflect of valve It as the speed of the engine increases. When the engine reaches a "predetermined higher speed, say, in the neighborhood of a speed corresponding to a vehicle road speed in high gear of about 40 to 45 miles per hour, then valve 34 completely opens air bleed orifice 32 which causes atmospheric pressure to be established in chamber I6, thereby completely bleeding down the suction obtaining at orifice l8, and valve I0 now moves to fully open position where it has no effect upon the breathing of, or charge flowing into, the engine.

If the speed of the engine decreases due to an increase in load or closing of valve 6 then valve 34 will move radially inwardly and begin to restrict air bleed orifice 32 when the engine reaches a speed of corresponding to a vehicle road speed of 40 to 45 miles per hour and the restricting action of valve 34 on air bleed orifice 32, will increase as the engine speed falls, thereby causing orifice 32 to air bleed orifice l8 and suction chamber l6 less and less which in turn causes diagram It to move valve I 0 gradually toward closed position. As valve Ill moves toward closed position, the breathing of the engine is correspondingly restricted and the engine is thereby prevented from over-charging and knocking at such lower speeds. 0n the other hand, at higher engine speeds the engine is able to breathe freely and thus maintain approximately the same high compression at all engine speeds without knocking. The maintenance of high compression at all engine speeds adds appreciably to the efi'iciency of the engine.

I claim:

1. A charge control mechanism for an internal combustion engine comprising in combination with the intake passageway of an internal combustion engine through which the motive fluid for the engine flows, of a throttle valve in the intake passageway, a charge control valve positioned in the intake passageway on the engine side of said throttle valve, an orifice positioned in the intake passageway on the engine side of said charge control valve, a suction device. a connection between the suction device and said charge control valve, resilient means tending to move said charge control valve toward open position, a conduit connecting the suction chamber of said suction device with said orifice whereby the intake passageway pressure at said orifice tends to establish itself in said suction chamber, said suction device being arranged so that a decrease of pressure in said suction chamber tends to move said charge control valve toward closed position and an increase of pressure in said suction chamber tends to move said charge control valve toward open 4 position. fluid bleed means actuated in accordance with the speed of the engine for bleeding fluid into said suction chamber at a rate increasing as the speed oi the engine increases and thereby causing said suction device to move said charge control valve toward open position until a predetermined speed is reached where the suction chamber is bled down to substantially atmospheric pressure and said resilient means iully opens said charge control valve.

2. The charge control mechanism claimed in claim 1 wherein the fluid bleed means is actuated in accordance with the speed of the engine, said fluid bleed means being closed when the engine is operating at substantially idle speed and gradually opening as the speed oi the engine increases above idle speed to increase the pressure in the suction chamber until a predetermined engine speed is reached substantially intermediate idle and top engine speeds at which engine speed the suction chamber is at substantially atmposheric pressure and holds the charge control valve fully open at such predetermined speed and all higher engine speeds.

3. The charge control mechanism claimed in claim 2 wherein the fluid bleed means comprises an orifice communicating with atmosphere, a conduit connecting the orifice with the suction device, and a centrifugally unbalanced valve which closes the orifice at idle engine speed, gradually opens said orifice as the engine speed increases until at a predetermined speed and all higher speeds the centriiugally unbalanced valve is wide open and the air bleed orifice and conduit bleed the vacuum in the suction chamber down to substantially atmospheric pressure.

4. The charge control mechanism claimed in claim 3 wherein the air bleed mechanism comprises an engine driven shaft, 9. cylinder mounted onthe shaft with the longitudinal axis of the cylinder perpendicular to the shaft, the air bleed orifice communicating with the cylinder and controlled by the centrifugally unbalanced valve which is reciprocably mounted in said cylinder for radially outward movement as the speed of the engine increases, and a spring for moving the centriiugally unbalanced valve radially inwardly as the speed of the engine decreases, said valve tending to close the air bleed orifice as it moves radially inwardly and opening the centrifugally unbalanced valve as it moves radially outwardly. I

5. A charge control mechanism for an internal combustion engine comprising in combination with the intake passageway of an internal combustion engine through which the motive fluid for the engine flows, of a manually controlled throttle valve of the butterfly type in the intake passageway, a charge control valve oi the butterfly type positioned in the intake passageway on the engine side of said throttle valve, an orifice positioned in the intake passageway on the engine side of said charge control valve, a suction device, a connection between the suction device and said charge control valve, resilient means tending to move said charge control valve toward open position, a conduit connecting the suction chamber of said suction device with said orifice whereby the intake passageway pressure at said orifice tends to establish itself in said suction chamber, said suction device being arranged so that a decrease of pressure in said suction chamber tends to move said charge control valve toward closed position and an increase of pressure in said suction chamber tends to move said suction chamber at a rate increasing as the speed I of the engine increases and thereby causing said suction device to move said charge control valve toward open position until a predetermined speed is reached where the suction chamber is bled down to substantially atmospheric pressure and said resilient means fully opens said charge control valve.

6. A charge control mechanism for an internal combustion engine comprising in combination with the intake passageway of an internal combustion engine through which the motive fluid for the engine flows, of a manually controlled throttle valve of the butterfly type in the intake passageway, a charge control valve of the butterfly type positioned in the intake passageway on the engine side of said throttle valve, an orifice positioned in the intake passageway on the engine side of said charge control valve, a suction device, a connection between the suction device and said charge control valve, resilient means tending to move said charge control valve toward open position, a conduit connecting the suction chamber of said suction device with said orifice whereby the intake passageway pressure at said orifice tends to establish itself in said suction chamber, said suction device being arranged so that a decrease of pressure in said suction chamber tends to move said charge control valve toward closed position and an increase of pressure in said suction chamber tends to move said charge control valve toward open position, a rotary shaft rotated at a speed in accordance with the speed of the engine, an orifice in said shaft communicating with atmosphere, a conduit connecting said last mentioned orifice with the suction chamber of said suction device, a cylinder unbalanced valve is fully open and remains so at all higher engine speeds and the suction device responds to atmospheric pressure in the suction chamber and holds said charge control valve substantially wide open.

7. A charge control mechanism for an internal combustion engine comprising in combination with the intake passageway of an internal combustion engine through which the motive fluid for the engine flows, of a throttle valve in the intake passageway, a charge control valve positioned in the intake passageway on the engine side of said throttle valve, an orifice positioned in the intake passageway on the engine side of said charge control valve, a suction device, a connection between the suction device and said charge control valve, a conduit connecting the suction chamber of said suction device with said orifice whereby the intake passageway pressure at said orifice tends to establish itself in said suctionchamber, said suction'device being arranged so that a decrease of pressure in said suction chamber tends to move said charge control valve toward closed position and an increase of pressure in said suction chamber tends to move said charge control valve toward open position, fluid bleed means actuated in accordance with the speed of the engine for bleeding fluid into said suction chamber at a rate increasing as the speed of the engine increases and thereby causing said charge control valve to move toward open position until a preterfly type and wherein said charge control valve is an unbalanced butterfly valve so that the manii'old suction and the velocity of the fluid flowing through the intake passageway tend to swing the charge control valve toward open position.

MARION MALLORY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the flle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Number Phillips Nov. 1, 1938 

